9.30.2009

In this honest, suspenseful, and moving memoir, author David Nasser recalls being forced to escape from his native Iran during the 1979 Revolution. Through the lens of a terrified boy you will witness the destructive power of religion and the pull of peer pressure as he tries to fit into a vastly different culture–the American South.

Nasser's raw and transparent account of his transition from hating religion to having a living faith will touch your soul. His unflinchingly honest, yet humorous, assessment of the church from an outsider's point of view is both enlightening and challenging.

Jumping through Fires takes you on a riveting journey from religion and fear to the life-changing discovery of God's grace.

"Whether speaking or writing, David Nasser is quickly rising up as one of today's new relevant voices. This generation demands 'the real,' and in his new book, Jumping through Fires, David Nasser brings the heat." – Toby Mac, recording artist

"David is a great friend who has spoken truth into my life through his ministry." – Mark Hall, Casting Crowns

"Once you open Jumping through Fires, you won't be able to put it down... A life-changing book." – Mac Powell, lead singer of Third Day

7.14.2009

Glory Revealed II NEW RELEASE!

Glory Revealed II - NEW RELEASE July 14, 2009

Today's the day!

Wow! I can't believe it is actually here! Last June a number of this generation's most anointed worship leaders got together on a beautiful farm in south-central Georgia to collaborate on the worship album Glory Revealed II. What an amazing few days it was.

The building where everyone gathered was an old wooden corn silo that had been converted into a beautiful hunting lodge, which was then converted into a recording studio. Amidst the sounds of crickets, frogs, hoot owls, and an occasional thunderstorm, were the sounds of guitars, mandolins, banjos . . . and the click of laptop keys as these phenomenal worship leaders and artists worked together to take the very words the Holy Spirit had written thousands of years ago and put them to music. With the same commitment to Scriptural integrity as the first Glory Revealed, this second album uses texts from the Bible and pairs them with earthy, acoustic music to help us all worship with the Word.

Needless to say, I am so excited about this album . . . which comes out TODAY, July 14 . . . and I hope that everyone who loves the Word will grab a CD or purchase online here and experience it for yourself.

I hope you have a great day and let's all make a commitment today (whether it's with Glory Revealed II or not) to worship the Lord!

4.10.2009

Turn Down the Music

Turn Down the Music Tour

with Shane & Shane,

David Nasser

and Matt Maher

It's that time of year again...tour time.

I will be hitting the road with my good friends, the Shanes, next week for a 19-city run. This time the amazing Matt Maher will be joining us. If you are not familiar with Matt as an artist, you might know his songs since you probably sing them at your church. Matt has penned such classics as “Your Grace is Enough” (made famous by the golden child Chris Tomlin) and a handful of others. Matt is an anointed worship leader and you’re gonna love him. Between Matt and the freak of nature duo better known as Shane & Shane, plus a brand new message from yours truly, it ought to be a special night.

The tour is called the “Turn Down the Music” Tour. I don’t want to give too much away, but I will tell you that we are very excited about the tour theme. So what does it mean? Turn down the music? Musicians want to turn down the music? What???? Come and find out...we’d love for you to join us.

2.05.2009

Obviously, we need to pray for our brothers and sisters all around the world. But if you're like me I forget. Sadly, the "out of sight, out of mind principle" applies here. If we don't know who to pray for we simply quit praying. I think practicing the discipline of awareness can be the cure that arouses prayer for others around the world. I received an email the other day that reminded me of the persecution of Christians in Muslim nations. I wanted to make you aware of it as well. Here it the article from the Christian post:

Islamic nations made up more than half of the top 10 countries listed as the world’s worst persecutor of Christians in a new report.Saudi Arabia again took the No. 2 spot, followed by Iran (No. 3), Afghanistan (No. 4), Somalia (No. 5), Maldives (No. 6), Yemen (No. 7), and Uzbekistan (No. 10). Compared to last year’s Open Doors’ World Watch List, the 2009 list had one more Muslim dominated country.

Taking the top spot again this year for the seventh year in a row is the totalitarian and reclusive state of North Korea.

Dr. Carl Moeller, Open Doors USA president, highlighted several changes to the 2009 World Watch List including the reemergence of Somalia into the top 10 list.

“Somalia and Eritrea are also in the top 10,” Moeller noted to The Christian Post in an interview Tuesday. “You can see that the Christian community in that part of Africa has just been hammered."

Also Afghanistan moved up two spots to No. 5 this year because of increased activities by the Taliban, a Muslim extremist group that formerly ruled the country.

Interestingly, Moeller noted, both China and Bhutan, both Asian countries, dropped out of the top 10.

Although China (No. 12), which has a troubled history with religious freedom, is no longer part of the top 10 list, Moeller said the ministry will continue to keep a close eye on the country he describes as an “enigma.”

“China is an enigma in many ways in relations to persecution,” Moeller said. “There has never been greater openness in China, and yet at the same time - having spent some time there, in particular just a few months ago – we still hear direct reports from individuals who have been arrested, interrogated and even held for days without being told why."

“And this type of persecution continues to go on especially in rural areas,” he said.

The two countries that showed the most improvement in Christian persecution over the past year are Vietnam, which dropped from No. 17 to No. 23, and Columbia, which was dropped from the top 50 list after ranking high for many years on the list. Vietnam was No. 8 on the World Watch List in 2006.

11.24.2008

My assistant LeAnn received an interesting email sent to our office the other day, here it is:

LeAnn,I emailed you last week asking for your help in spreading the word about my husband raffling off his Super Bowl ring. I understand this sounds like a far-fetched story; so here are some links to help prove the validity of this story!! Won't you please help us get the word out on this so we may raise the most amount of money to help children locally and globally! David played a part in our spiritual walk, God used him to instill something into us (or remove something) that helped us eventually get to this point where we are willing to give it all back to Him!! His words "These children deserve the very hell that is their lives...but so do we!!" kept ringing in my head the night that Jim Brown shared. And as I saw the pictures and heard the statistics that he was sharing…that was all I could hear. My children deserve this just as much as any other…and it’s by God’s mercy that it isn’t them. And what I am willing to do about it!!

So please help us spread the word so we may raise the most funds to go to these poor children locally and globally!!

Have a great day!!

Samua Cherry

We want to help Samua and J'Rod Cherry get the word out. J'Rod Cherry played pro ball for the Saints, the Eagles, and the Patriots. He is a big dude, with an even bigger heart. It was obvious as I was talking to him that God is up to something really special through this. The is about a whole lot more than a jock giving away his ring. This is about a guy who is casting down idols in his own life and calling all of us to examine what we can do for the kingdom. Even if you're not into bling, or into the patriots, this is a really special cause.

This is not a joke. You buy ten dollars worth of raffle tickets (ten bucks gives you five raffle entries)and you're entered to win an actual Super Bowl ring. You also win the 18 grand it takes to pay off the taxes on 142 diamond's and pure gold value of the ring. Obviously it's worth a whole lot more than that...

8.18.2008

Thoughts on The faith Forum at Saddleback, with McCain and Obama.

Before I get started I want to make sure that you understand that I am not endorsing either candidate. I’m not trying to tell you who to vote for. I will however go on record to say that you should get out and vote. Make your mark.

Saturday night’s Faith Forum at Saddleback has been swimming in my mind, my heart, and on my tongue since the moment it aired two nights ago.

First of all, I want to declare a winner! The winner of the forum is...(drum roll please)...

Rick Warren. Whatever you think of Rick, his mega church, or even more mega selling book, you've got to give him points for asking questions that were both revealing and timely. Rick did a great job of asking the kind of questions that everyday people want to know the answers to. He was also fair and gracious to both candidates. Hats off to you Rick... Now, if we can just convince him to get rid of the goofy Hawaiian shirts...

There is so much to discuss here, but as you might have guessed, what got me blogging was the question about when life truly begins, and the candidate’s stances on abortion. Don't get me wrong, everything they talked about was important.Their heroes? Important.The war? Important.The economy? important.The education of our children? Important.The responsibility to care of the needy in the world? So-so important.

But to me the plight of the unborn, is still the most important.

Why? Because every other decision that a president makes flows out of his core belief about the sanctity of human life. Not just the sanctity of life for an already born adult, but for those in a mother’s womb as well. This is not just a pro-life stance, but what many conservative evangelicals like myself like to call a “whole-life stance.”

Here are the facts, no matter what your opinion:1. Although abortions are on a decline in the past few years, almost every third baby conceived in America is aborted.2. Since 1973 (Roe vs. Wade), when abortions became legal in the United States, there have been nearly 46 million abortions to date. This is not to mention the illegal, and untraceable abortions now more frequent because the abortion pill.3. Most scientists, Christian or not, agree that some form of a “new living” cell begins at conception.4. Combine these facts with the belief of billions of people that abortion is the termination of that “new life”, and you can see why this is a searing hot topic to say the least.

So here are a few thoughts on each candidate’s response to Rick Warren’s question.

John McCain:The question was: At what point does life begin? His answer: “At conception.”

I know his voting record on pro-life issues before the forum. I know that he was in favor to uphold the ban on partial birth abortions. It’s also important to note that I also know that, unlike me, McCain approves of embryonic stem cell research. I fail to see the difference between a parent who discards an unwanted or leftover in-vitro embryo, or an unwanted embryo in a womb of a mother. While I recognize the urgent need for stem cell research in the fight against such things as Parkinson's disease, I see adult stem cell research as the only ethical choice. Is a human embryo a human life? If so, when is it OK to kill a human embryo for any reason?

Barrack Obama:The question was: At what point does life begin? His answer: Basically, “I'm not sure… I'm pro-choice, because I believe that women make this decision with much thought and serious consideration. I want to see abortions reduced by offering better options.”

Rather than taking potshots at his “above my pay grade" comment, I will pose a question instead. Let’s say that no one really knows when life begins. Let’s say that none of us can really ever be sure. Let’s just say the question is above everyone’s pay grade. Since we don't know, Senator Obama, could it be that we MIGHT be killing babies through abortion? Aren't you admitting that they might be alive, by saying, “I don't really know?”

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that the FDA approved a drug that we think might be killing millions of people. It’s a highly controversial drug that many people disagree about. Let’s say no lab really knows for sure whether the drug is safe or not. All we know is there is a valid argument on both sides that this drug could or could not be lethal. Would you be OK with allowing this kind of Russian roulette game go on as the president? Would you say that since you don't know if the drug is really killing people or not, that we should continue to use it? How is that not a pro-death stance?

I heard both men profess Christ as their Savior, and I heard both men stress the need to stand against the innocent killings in places such as Darfur and Rwanda. I heard both men say that 150 million orphaned children need a home, and that this great nation must rise for the oppressed. But, I also heard both men agree that evil exists. What greater evil can there be than the holocaust of 46 million innocent children in our nation alone?

Our prayer:Oh Lord, we repent. We repent for the lack of tears, the lack of shouts, the lack of passion, and most of all, the lack of vigilant prayer for the unborn. Revive this land, Lord. We are a desperate people in need of you. We pray for our leaders, both present and future. Break their hearts for the things than break Yours. We don't need a king, Lord, we already have one. You are it. We need You.